Irkutsk International Airport (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Международный Аэропорт Иркутск) is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

on the outskirts of

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, at a distance of 60 kilometers (37 miles) from

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

Operations

The airport has daily domestic flights to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Vladivostok,

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, Novosibirsk,

Yakutsk Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the ...

, Saint Petersburg,

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, and Sochi. It has regional daily flights to Ust-Kut, Bratsk, Bodaybo, Kirensk and other Russian cities. Due to its proximity to the

Angara The Angara (; ) or Angar ( мүрэн) is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisey. It is long, and has ...

Reservoir, the airport is subject to a

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

of foggy weather. When the airport is closed due to bad weather conditions, Bratsk Airport, Ulan-Ude Airport, Irkutsk Northwest Airport, and Belaya (air base) serve as diversion airports.

History

1920s to 1930s

The Irkutsk Airport opened on 24 June 1925. Six aircraft from

landed at the airport as part of a flight to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Of these six planes, four were domestic and two were foreign. This flight was headed by captain I.P. Shmidt. The event was the beginning of aviation service in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. On 10–13 August 1928 the first postal/passenger flight on the Irkutsk– Bodaybo seaplane route arrived. It was a Junkers F 13 named Mossovet. In August 1932 the air route from Moscow to Vladivostok opened with a stop in Irkutsk. Irkutsk aviators started to fly the Irkutsk to Mogocha route.

1940s to 1960s

In January 1948, daily flights on the Irkutsk–Moscow, Irkutsk–Bodaybo–Yakutsk air routes were started. On December 30, 1954, Irkutsk Airport was elevated to international status. On September 15, 1956, the

Tupolev Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a medium-range, narrow-body, twin turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, after the British de Havilland Comet and was the only jetliner operating in the wo ...

first arrived in Irkutsk by tech-flight from Beijing. The Moscow–Irkutsk route initiated that day marked the first Soviet jet-airliner-operated passenger route. The flight was performed by a Moscow crew headed by captain E.P. Barabash.

1970s to 1990s

On March 7, 1975, the first

Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian airlines for several decades, ...

jets landed in Irkutsk. On April 4, 1975, the first flight to Moscow on Tupolev Tu-154 was performed. On November 11, 1980, the first

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

CCCP-76525 arrived in Irkutsk. The crew consisted of: flight instructor МГА Mr. M. V. Ptitsyn, the commander УТО Mr. V. F. Podshivalov, captain-probationer A.V. Bobylkov and other flying experts. On December 19, 1980, the first flight was performed on the route Irkutsk– Polyarnyi using the Il-76. It was headed by air detachment commander Mr. v. I. Sviridov. On April 1, 1992, according to order No. 238 d.d. 30 March, Irkutsk United Air Group was reorganized. There were Irkutsk Airport State Enterprise (SE "Irkutsk Airport") and Air company Baikal Public Corporation. On October 28, 1994, certificate No. 045-А-М from the Intergovernmental Aviation Committee for accordance with certification requirements was given. The airport was accepted as suitable for international flights. On December 16, 1994, the acting terminal of international flights was put into commission.

2000s

On April 12, 2002, the aerodrome operator changed its name to Irkutsk Airport

Federal State Unitary Enterprise A unitary enterprise () is a government-owned corporation in Russia and some other post-Soviet states. Unitary enterprises are business entities that have no ownership rights to the assets that they use in their operations. This form is possible ...

. On July 14, 2004, the aerodrome received its certificate to accept international flights and landing-minimum 1 category

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

60. On October 14, 2008, the work for lengthening the runway (400 m towards

) was completed. The domestic terminal was re-opened on April 10, 2009, after reconstruction. The terminal is called Crystal Gate. Irkutsk International Airport held its first aircraft spotting session on November 13, 2009, becoming the third large city in Russia (after Moscow and Novosibirsk). The event has become a tradition. On July 2, 2010, Irkutsk Airport celebrated its 85th anniversary. On March 1, 2011, Federal State Unitary Enterprise Irkutsk Airport became the open

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

International airport Irkutsk.

Technical characteristics

Ground movement and aircraft parking chart of Irkutsk aerodrome

Irkutsk International Airport has a rather unusual layout, with the passenger terminals being off the western end of the airfield's only runway, at an exact 270° heading. The airport's runway is coated with a substance known as , but is also rather steep, featuring a 30-metre vertical drop between the west and east runway ends. The total capacity of the two passenger terminals is 1450 passengers per hour. For loads up to 30 tons, the

cargo terminal In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in case ...

has at its disposal diesel forklifts, hoists, a container platform, and electronic/mechanical weigh scales. The airport complex also includes the Air Harbour airport hotel, a service of aviation service (board food workshop) repair facility and medical services. There is a VIP lounge in the international terminal building. Passenger capacity: * Domestic terminal: 800 passengers/hour * International terminal: 650 passengers/hour Cargo terminal: area = 2.2 hectares with a capacity of 150 tonnes per day. Fire fighting equipment: cat VIII

Runway characteristics

The class of the artificial landing strip - B (according to the length of the landing strip), corresponding to the first category of

ETOPS Diversion airport

Irkutsk airport serves as a

diversion airport Diversion airports are airports capable of handling a particular ETOPS The Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards (ETOPS) () are safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for Twinjet, twin-e ...

for transcontinental flights and Polar route 2.Boeing-conducted Airport safety and operational assessments
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Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Ground transport

The airport is located within the city limits. At the airport there are two paid parking areas: 180 spaces (near the international terminal) and 80 spaces (near the domestic airline terminal). The air terminals are equipped with three stops for complex urban public transport. In addition, shuttle bus number 306 has a route to

Angarsk Angarsk ( rus, Ангарск, p=ɐnˈgarsk) is a city and the administrative center of Angarsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kitoy River, from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History Ang ...

which runs three times a day (2010 data).

Periodical literature

The airport publishes its own regional industry newspaper, ''Irkutsk Sky'', dedicated to civil aviation in the Irkutsk region. The publication contains interviews with the heads of airlines, an airline news column, and analytical materials. The newspaper is published bimonthly and distributed free in the airport terminals and the airlines' offices in Irkutsk.

Accidents and incidents

* On 25 July 1971, Aeroflot Flight 1912 crashed after it touched down short of the runway. 97 of the 118 people on board perished in the crash. * On 9 February 1976, Aeroflot Flight 3739 crashed shortly after takeoff. Of the 115 people on board, 24 perished in the accident. * On 4 July 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352 rolled sharply, stalled and crashed whilst on approach into Irkutsk. All 145 people on board were killed. * On 9 July 2006, S7 Airlines Flight 778 overshot the runway, and crashed through a concrete barricade, hit a group of private garages and burst into flames, killing 125 out 203 people on board. The only runway had to be closed, and incoming planes were diverted to the runway of the nearby Irkut aviation plant, where

Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi ...

fighters and the

Beriev Be-200 The Beriev Be-200 ''Altair'' () is a jet aircraft, jet-powered amphibious aircraft, amphibious flying boat of utility type designed and built by the Beriev, Beriev Aircraft Company. Marketed as being designed for aerial firefighting, fire figh ...

are produced. * On 1 July 2016, an IL-76 belonging to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) of the Russian Federation, which took off from Irkutsk International airport, crashed in the early morning near Lake Baikal on its way to fight a forest fire in the area. All ten people on board were members of EMERCOM, and there were no survivors.

References

External links

Official Website International Airport Irkutsk
* * * {{authority control Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Irkutsk Oblast Airports established in 1925